Impacts of climate change on ecosystem services

Key Findings

By 2050, climate change will triple the fraction of counties in the U.S. that are at high or extremely high risk of outstripping their water supplies (from 10 percent to 32 percent). The most at risk areas in the U.S. are the West, Southwest and Great Plains regions.

Regulation of drinking water quality will be strained as high rainfall and river discharge conditions may lead to higher levels of nitrogen in rivers and greater risk of waterborne disease outbreaks.

Climate change will have uneven effects on timber production across the U.S. Recent increases in tree mortality due to disease and pests, and the intensity of fires and area burned will continue to destroy productive forests. On the other hand, in some regions climate change is expected to boost overall forest productivity due to longer growing seasons.

There is a better than 50 percent chance that climate change will overwhelm the ability of natural systems to mitigate the harm to people resulting from extreme weather events (such as heat waves, heavy rains, and drought).

Vulnerability of people and property in coastal areas is highly likely to increase dramatically – due to the effects of sea-level rise, storm surge, and the loss of habitats that provide protection from flooding and erosion. The areas at greatest risk to coastal hazards in the U.S. are the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The human communities most vulnerable to climate-related increases in coastal hazards are the elderly and the poor who are less able to respond quickly before and during hazards and to respond over the long term through relocation.

Changes in abundance and ranges of commercially important marine fish are highly likely to result in loss of some local fisheries, and increases in value for others if fishing communities and management practices can adapt.

In recreation and tourism, the greatest negative climate impacts will continue to be felt in winter sports and beach recreation (due to coastal erosion). Other forms of recreation are highly likely to increase due to better weather, leading to a redistribution of the industry and its economic impacts, with visitors and tourism dollars shifting away from some communities in favor of others.

Supporting, regulating, and provisioning ecosystem services all contribute to food security in the United States, and the fate of the nation’s food production are very likely to depend on the interplay of these services and how the agriculture and fishery sectors respond to climate stresses.